Fmr. Romney Spox Rips BuzzFeed‘s Hastings

Richard Grenell, who recently resigned as foreign policy spokesman from the Mitt Romney campaign amid a controversy about being openly gay, lobbed a hand grenade at BuzzFeed‘s Michael Hastings last night. “@mmhastings is supposed to be covering the obama campaign for buzzfeed but he laughs at GOP foreign policies, applauds Obama,” Grenell wrote.

At the time, Hastings and BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith were appearing on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight to talk politics. Hastings replied, “Yes Iraq was huge a success.”

To that, Grenell said, “Reporters who giggle when talking policy lose credibility.” Hastings, well known for an article he wrote for Rolling Stone in which military officials in Afghanistan were highly critical of the Obama administration, defended his credibility remarking, “Sorry ric I must have missed you in Baghdad and kabul.”

Grenell had the last word: “So the reporter covering obama for Buzzfeed giggles at the GOP & thinks its fine cuz he went to Baghdad?”

When asked if he thought Hastings and BuzzFeed were largely left-leaning, Grenell, who worked in the Bush administration, told FishbowlDC, “Andrew [Kaczynski] at BuzzFeed is a bulldog covering the Romney campaign. His tenacity is impressive. Unfortunately, the guy they have covering the Obama team is proving to be anti-GOP and an Obama sympathizer.”

Grenell also said he respects and values “aggressive reporting/reporters even when I don’t always agree with their stories.” He named ABC’s Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper as a journalist who has “aggressively” covered both the Bush and Obama White House.

“Twitter is not a medium that seems to suit Ric Grenell’s personality,” Hastings told us. “He already lost one job because of the dumb shit on his feed.”

Smith also commented but in a much friendlier tone: “Ric is famous, legendary I’d say, for working the refs, and great at it, and generally a very smart guy; but it’s to be marveled at, not engaged.”

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